Around Ottawa (and other cities) the Police are running a new “scam” to catch folks that are on their Cell Phones while driving (which in Ontario is against the law).

The first scam is a “homeless” person standing on a highway off ramp with a hand written sign on a piece of box card board, who approaches a car, and if the person looks closely at the sign it says:

I am Sergeant BCM of the Ottawa Police, you have been caught talking on your cell phone while driving, please pull your car over.

Or some similar sentiment to that. Evidently it has been quite successful, and there are variants out there on this thematic concept as well (“Squeegee Kids” that are actually cops, that can catch you on the phone as well). One of the cops claims he collected over $10 in change as well!

Mean Spirited TV Show Idea

This got me thinking is there something we could try for a TV show to run this kind of scam on the financial side of things. We should set up a store front for a “Pay Day Loan” or cheque cashing store (in an affluent neighbourhood).

Another thing we can do is have lots of posters “advertising” cheque cashing services which actually say things like “Only losers would use this service” and “We are going to take all your money and leave you broke” and other great stuff like that (with scantily clad women as part of the advertising as well). We could call it the “We Screw You Pay Day Loan Service“.

When people come in, have the “teller” ask lots of questions like:

How much do you earn in a year?

Do you have a bank account?

Why do you need to use this service?

You realize this service is designed to screw you out of your money?

If it turns out that this is obviously a person who shouldn’t be using the service berate the “customer” but if they continue to insist they need to use the service, tell them they are on “BCM’s Financial Follies“.

Yes, it sounds like a mean-spirited nasty show, so that is why I am positive it will be a hit!

Are there other variants on this scam that could make this TV Show into a series? A hedge fund version of the store front scam?